Unbalanced
by LoLSuperNerd
Summary: There are many ways to kill, and over the years many individuals had discovered a plethora of methods to end someone else's life. However the universally agreed favorite way to do so was very simple, the razor sharp blade making the soft flesh of the throat its new home. Watching these criminals and scum die by your blade was pleasing and most killers cherished every minute...
1. Chapter 1

There are many ways to kill, and over the years many individuals had discovered a plethora of methods to end someone else's life. However the universally agreed favorite way to do so was very simple, the razor sharp blade making the soft flesh of the throat its new home. Watching these criminals and scum die by your blade was pleasing and most killers cherished every minute in the act of doing so. The same holds true for the savages at the center of our story. Our story begins as most should, in a bar where several minds from different backgrounds hatch a plot. The small group of rogues at the center of this tale had dubbed themselves the headhunters. They were neither heroes nor villians, just mercenaries who, for the right price, would take anyone's head. The group did not connect emotion with killing, money drove their actions, this is their story, a tale of deceit, blood, money, and sex. This tale begins in Bilgewater, where the young assassin Akali first meets the headhunters and decides to become one herself, causing a chain reaction of events.

The air smelled of sea salt and gunpowder; I hated the smell of gunpowder. I guess you're wondering who I am, Akali is how I'm known by most, and I used to be the fist of shadow, but those days are far behind me. At the young age of fourteen I was initiated into the Kinkou Order as an apprentice. Less than a year later, I was taken under the wing of another Kinkou ninja by the name of Zed. He trained with me, and even showed me things I'd never thought I'd get to see, but one day he vanished, and since then I have been roaming Runeterra looking for him. I severed my ties with the Kinkou, and left Ionia for the first time. Oh did I forget to mention, my mother is the current Fist of Shadow in the Kinkou and forced me through grueling training most of my life?

Anyway, back to my story. So, I paid a small fee to ride a rare from Ionia to another Island and found myself in Bilgewater. Why Bilgewater? Well, I heard reports of an assassin who appears for mere seconds before taking his pray with the blade attached to his wrist. That sounds like Zed, his dual bladed gauntlets were pretty one of a kind. I'm hopeful I can find him. After all, no one else in the world would use that style of weaponry, right?

I walked down the street the downpour of rain leaving my black traveling cloak soaking wet. I glanced down and looked at my reflection in a puddle that had formed. It had only been a few weeks since I had left Ionia, but already I looked different. I had destroyed my old green bodysuit provided by the Kinkou and replaced it with a more travel friendly outfit. The full black suit had dark strips of cloth wrapping my plated leggings and gauntlets, plus I had covered the traditional Ionian white tunic with a darker foreign hardened animal hide chest plate. It was lighter than body armor, and didn't restrict my movements, but a sword would cut through it like butter. I also dyed my hair a different color, I thought it would look cooler that way. It was a shimmering silver color (I was right), but couldn't be seen as my face was mostly hidden by my cloak, the only visible feature were my lips, the soft pink skin contrasting my porcelain-white skin. I stepped in the puddle causing my reflection to disappear and glanced down a back road where I saw a tavern, food and lodging, exactly what I needed.

As I walked in, The bar felt dank and I didnt like the look of the fellow in the corner with the blue and gold plated armor; Demacian or something like that, if I remembered from the textbooks. It felt like he could see my face despite my cloak covering my entire face. Nervously and quickly, I shuffled to the corner and sat down leaving my hood from my black traveling coat up, concealing my face. I slowly raised my left hand, the universal sign for a hostess to assist you.

"Your finest ale and meat," I said quietly to which the hostess raised an eyebrow, "I'm good for the cost,"

"Thanks Shen," I whispered, jiggling his coin purse under my cloak sheepishly.

As I said this I shook my hip purse, the gold making a satisfying sound or at least I thought; the hostess seemed to agree as she smiled and walked off to fetch what I had requested. I cared little for money past meeting my basic needs to survive. In all honesty, I had no use for it, I was nomadic now so I did not need housing usually only taking jobs in each town just to pay for my room and board while I searched for him. Zed and I had become a fearsome duo of rogue assassins, well at least that was what I hoped would be the case when I finally find him. His steel was unmatched to all but someday my blade would beat his; he was everything I strived to be.

My eyes darted from side to side of the room looking for any sign of him. I suppose you're questioning my decision to look in the bar and under normal circumstances I'd agree this is the last place to look, but Zed was an interesting man. He loved taverns like this, i could remember stories Shen told of dragging him home in his drunken state, and Zed's tales of his drunken exploits with Shen throughout the taverns of Ionia. My thoughts wandered to the conversations Zed and I had back at the dojo, and finally coming to rest on that one night we spent together. I shot my gaze to the floor and but my lip, remembering all the things he showed me, and felt my hands gripping my thighs tightly, wishing he were here to do it again to me. I caught myself blushing and lightly patted my cheeks with my hands, and sighed trying to pull myself together.

"Balance, balance," I changed silently to myself, however my calming ritual was interrupted by the entrance of a few more individuals.

My eyes shot to the entrance when the doors were practically kicked in and 4 hooded figures walked in, normally I would've paid them no mind, just travelers, but the gleam of silver and the skulls hanging from the shoulder of the biggest one caught my attention, as well as the general rowdiness of all four of them.

I nearly gave away my position when the figure dropped his hood and a large cat-like creature looked around the room. Our eyes briefly met and I noticed one eye was yellow and the other blue, clearly it was some sort of battle wound, _he's a strong warrior_ , I could tell at first glance. I quickly broke the glance, but I couldn't help it, my eyes shot back to the humongous skull on his shoulder. Whatever he had killed must have been nearly ten feet tall, the skull had four eye sockets and the upper jaw had two large fangs baring down. What really caught my eye however was the gauntlet on his left arm. It looked like a larger version of the wrist blade Zed had, however on the creatures his was another large knife. These reports of the assassin could actually be this creature, but I pushed that thought from my head, I WILL find Zed.

I almost didnt notice the woman standing behind him, however the majority of the men in the tavern certainly had. The green suit on the second girl hardly concealed her luscious curves, the plating was unlike any design I'd ever seen, it was anamorphic in design contouring to her body. The best armor smiths in Ionia couldn't make armor that anamorphic. The plating was a vivid shade of green, and had ornate gems that shone like lights on the rear of the armor. I briefly questioned my own sexuality finding her suit incredibly attractive in a strictly sexual way. However, I let the thought pass, my attention now drawn to the spear in her hand. It was a wicked looking weapon with three separate prongs, which looked to have barbed tips, and on her hip were several traps. Her darker skin had a thin layer of dark paint over her eyes, a few other designs painted around her eyes; I mentally noted the dreaded hair which was held neatly by a large metal headband. They looked as though even those could be used as a weapon.

The last figure remained hooded, however I caught a quick glance of what appeared to be one of the Eastern country ranged weapons, I had heard them called rifles. Largely they were made in Piltoverm but Zaun also manufactured similar weapons. The red glow of the end of the rifle caught my eye. I swallowed, if a fight were to break out, that hooded figure would cause me a lot of problems.

The last figure was even harder to make out, although based on the man's facial apparatus he must've had at least seven eyes. His blade also had a serrated edge and no sheath, just a small loop to keep the blade from clattering to the floor; the man's small frame and rather large blade also made me feel uneasy.

I know what you're thinking, why am I so cautious of these people? It's not that I'm a criminal or anything, but the enemies of Ionia were everywhere, and I didn't know enough about these other places in the world to be comfortable in a place I'd never been when warriors of foreign countries were in my vicinity. I didn't know if they'd attack me or ignore me. However, despite my cautious behavior the four that just entered did not harbor my same feelings towards me. In fact, if anything it appeared they didn't care about my existence at all. I shrugged and looked down at the meat and ale placed in front of me, resolving that they weren't worth watching at the current moment as I took a large bite of the meat. It was delicious. The seasonings were Ionian in nature, which was strange since I was in Bilgewater.

My eyes darted upward as I heard screaming and banging. The spear wielding girl had begun banging the table, demanding a round of drinks for herself and her three companions.

The rifle wielding one scoffed, and spoke in a rough British accent "I'd rather drink sewage than an ale from these parts. I'm only drinking if there's brandy."

I immediately recognized the accent, it was the voice of a Piltovian aristocrat; there were quite a few Piltovians that had settled in Ionia. I can recall having a few mission given to me from the Kinkou escorting the Piltovians who had settled there across Ionia.

The large cat-monster for lack of a better term to describe the animal, happily accepted the large tankard slid his way by the spear lady. I watched fascinated, the four were the rowdiest bunch I'd ever seen, and i decided the search for my master could wait one night; I wanted to see how this night would go.

The yelling and screaming was nearly deafening, tankards toppled smashing and spilling their contents on the cobblestone floor. Fists were thrown, and couples left in droves. It was an intense display, and I silently observed from my corner of the room, my steak gone however I duly noted my cup had been refilled. Unlike Zed I was not much of a drinker, especially since the Kinkou frowned upon it. However as it is customary to order alcohol with your meal I usually do during my travels, or at least in the recent past I have been.

I slowly began to sip my drink, and leaned back in the chair. As I did so my hood fell backward, exposing the delicate fair skin, to which many of the males immediately noticed.

I became slightly panicked as several drunken males made their way to my table, I did not want to draw any attention to myself and before long several drinks found their way into my mouth, and as I became more intoxicated the closer these men seemed. The situation had quickly spiraled out of control. One male reached forward and grabbed me. I didn't like that, I jumped out my seat and whipped my leg around the heel of my boot slamming into the man's face sending him spiraling to the cobblestone floor, _so much for keeping a low profile._

The other men looked around shocked, suddenly one of the men yelled out, "hey bitch! What'd you do that for?"

Suddenly another voice rang out, "This wench seems to think that us Bilgewater rats aren't brawlers. Bar fight!"

The bar turned into a violent tornado of bodies as everyone in the bar began brawling, I vaguely heard a man yell, "hey everyone get in here!"

I effortlessly sidestepped a wild haymaker thrown by a drunken male and responded by bringing my knee to meet his body between his legs, feeling the squishy organ crush on my knee, another kick to the chest sent him flying backward, crying out from the blow I had dealt to his manhood. Before another fellow could swing I leapt to the rafters. I quickly surveyed the room and nervously noticed the girl with the spear staring directly at me; I needed to find an escape route, now.

Couldn't find one and in my drunken state, I tripped over my own feet, and slammed down unceremoniously on a table smashing it to pieces beneath myself. To my horror the spear lady landed directly over my her faces inches from mine. She smiled and ran her hand up and down my face.

"You're a cute one aren't you," she said pushing my hair out of my face, "I want you to myself, and I don't even know who you are."

I swallowed, "w-who are you?"

"Me?" She asked jokingly, "I am a headhunter, some call me Nidalee, but you may call me mistress, if you so please."

I could feel my cheeks flushing a bit, _what a forward woman_ , how does one respond to that.

"I'd rather not," I replied coolly, although my heart betrayed me.

"I can smell it on you," she responded icily, "you're pheromones are begging you to mate. I could find you from across the continent."

"I, uh" I couldn't concentrate, this situation was so unfamiliar to me. Luckily the bar fight brought my salvation when someone threw a tankard.

Nidalee sensed it and leaped back, the contents spilling all over my cloak. _Curse this alcohol, I should've sensed that as well, this is the exact reason I dont drink_ , everything feels so fast and I feel sluggish.

Shaking my head I groggily leaped through an open window on the second floor, landing in a pile of garbage, "some ninja you are" I murmured to myself in disgust.

I quietly stood up and staggered down the street. I had forgotten to rent a room, so I wandered around the town for a bit looking at the nightlife of Bilgewater. I had abandoned the hood concealing my face, and found myself in another tavern, the crowd in here seemed much less friendly than the previous bar. I tried to ignore the uncomfortable stares and slowly pulled out a few gold pieces.

"What'll it be miss?" The barkeep asked me, leaning on the bar.

"Well-I-uh," I hadn't thought this through the alcohol I had previously consumed was already clouding my judgement. I had never been this drunk before, And I had no idea what to drink; glancing around I saw an aggressive man seated next to me and pointed at his drink, "I'll have what he's having."

The barkeep smiled, "alright little lady, "doesn't seem like your type of drink but enjoy."

He slid the drink down the bar which I caught in my hand. I took a sip and nearly threw it up, it felt like I was drinking liquid fire. The man next to me had turned to look at me, "little lady." He said to me calmly.

I looked over at him playfully, "hey little guy."

He smiled again, "you ain't from around here are ye? That's Cap'n GP's firewater. The most alcoholic beverage you can find this side of Demacia."

I swallowed heavily, I had already drank almost the whole glass, I was scared to move from the bar, I didn't feel any more drunk, although I did feel significantly hotter and wanted to take my cloak off.

As if sensing this the man next to me offered to take my cloak, I obliged, arching my back slightly as he slowly removed the cloak exposing my slender shoulders and arms. Everything about my figure was petite, from my arms, to my small breasts, to my legs. The man smiled taking in my appearance. I blushed. He bought me a drink. He said some nice things to me. I laughed. He looked very attractive to me; he looked just like Zed. Maybe he is Zed. No, no he couldn't be. I wonder if he thought I was cute? Why does that matter? He doesn't have Zed's scars. Why is it wet? I looked up and I realized we're outside. Where were we going again? I don't remember him telling me. There's a woman with red hair on the other side of the man I met now. We turned into an alley. Why are we here?

The man reached behind a dumpster and pulled out a strange looking tube. The woman next to him pulled out two weapons that had large cylindrical contraptions on the bottom. I felt uneasy, something didn't seem right. I fell and I felt my consciousness fade.

Nidalee leaped onto a ledge, in her drunken state it was less graceful than she had intended, "I need to find that girl. Her scent is...intoxicating."

The beast nodded his head, adjusting the blade attached to his wrist, shaking the dreads on his head, "I can smell her from here, very drunk, very delicious."

The third member of this small party raised an eyebrow, "what exactly can you smell?"

Nidalee smiled, "a killer. Not just that, she had a similar scent to that boy that was also here a few weeks ago. The ninja. He's not as delicious as her though...I want her so much more. Also it seems she's been in close contact with the other boy. Perhaps we could use that to get to her."

The fourth shook his head, "she seems unstable, her balance is hindered not only from the alcohol but from some inner turmoil. I'm sensing she's in some sort of danger."

Nidalee shook her head, "I don't care Yi, she is definitely headhunter material, I can feel it."

He laughed, "I suppose you are the one with the hunter's eye, so shall we find her?"

The large monstrous beast dropped to a knee and placed his paw on the ground, "I shall track her tomorrow, for now I wish to drink and tomorrow we hunt!"

"Calm yourself Rengar," came the British accent from under her cloak, "suppose we do pick this little girl up for the headhunters, what's your plan then?"

Nidalee smiled, "I know you've heard about it Caitlyn. That boy, the one we found, have you heard what he's been up to lately? He's been building an army of ninja, and I have a feeling this girl is connected to him. I want to see this little story unfold."

Caitlyn nodded, "I suppose. But that leaves the issue of what if she says no, or worse what if she's a Kinkou assassin sent to kill Zed? We need to be sure."

Rengar nodded, "let me find the girl, I have an idea on how to determine her threat level."

Caitlyn sighed then looked from Nidalee to Rengar, "well seeing as it's already been decided by you two, I suppose I have no choice. There's your mission for tomorrow, Yi I'm going to need your help tomorrow as well."

Master Yi nodded, "my blade is yours...for now let's enjoy this fine ale and fine company, huzzah!"

"Did he really just say huzzah?" Nidalee snickered at him.

"Is that not a customary cheer?"

Nidalee laughed harder snorting beer from her nose, coughing up a lung as a result, "oh...my...God..." she managed to pant out between coughs, "we need another round..."

Rengar cheered, and the four continued to enjoy the night unaware of the predicament Akali had managed to find herself in.

Cold water splashed my face violently waking me up.

"Good morning sleepyhead," came a man's voice.

My eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the dimly lit room. As I started to regain my senses I realized I was tied down, my wrists and ankles bound to a chair.

"Where...where am I?" I stammered weakly, I immediately felt the familiar weight of kamas missing, making me very uneasy.

"In quite a predicament I'd say," came the man's voice back at me smugly.

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh nothing really," the man walked up to her, placing a hand on my shoulder, and slowly running down coming to rest on my breast. I winced as he squeezed it hard, "nice, I like it."

"What do you want?" I asked again, trying to kill him with the poison in my voice.

He smiled, "from you, not much, maybe your body. The Ionia;s really make their women nice, keh keh keh. But what I really want are those twin kamas on your hip. Ionian, and if I'm not mistaken looked to be Kinkou. Those would fetch quite a pretty penny on the black market. Or should I say, they did."

"My weapons!" I cried out, writhing in anger under my constraints.

"Yes yes, it's very sad, but now we have no use for you, unless. Would you like to become a whore for Gangplank's crew? It's not as bad as it sounds, just dozens of men ravaging your body daily, keh keh keh. You can start by pleasuring me. Welcome to Bilgewater little missy."

I could never, and I spit at him, falling short but the response being well received, "that's unfortunate girly. You are quite an attractive one. Oh well."

I closed my eyes as the man raised another one of those long barreled cylindrical weapons, kind of similar to the one I had seen the previous night, but much more barbaric looking. I quickly formulated a plot. Was there any way I could kill him? How could I escape? A million thoughts raced through my mind, as I sensed my imminent death, although by what method I didn't know.

"Where are we?" I asked to keep him talking and give myself more time to think.

"The slaughter docks," he replied, "I suppose you're wondering how I'm going to kill you. Well I was going to use Betsy here, but I think a shotgun isnt a fitting death for such a pretty young lady. So, as a welcoming to Bilgewater, let me introduce you to our local wildlife. The slaughter docks have a lot of sharks and razorfin in the drink, and" he grabbed two buckets and dumped their contents onto me.

I almost vomited, it smelled awful, "what is this?"

He covered his nose,"chum. Don't worry the sharks love it. It'll be quick sweetheart, unless the razorfin get ya, then it'll be long and painful."

He laughed as he kicked me out the back of the warehouse. My stomach lurched as I watched the door close I raised my head to see the ocean was six or seven feet from where I had been pushed, and as I splashed into the water the chair smashed on a large protruding rock. I was quickly submerged and saw the first shark make a beeline for me. I looked around and saw the chair arm I had been tied to had left a slight jagged edge attached to my wrist. I gripped the wood as the shark approached, shoving the wood up through the roof of its mouth as it reached me. It appeared to work as the shark stopped coming, and i used the opportunity to clamber back up the rock the chair had smashed on previously. Tears streaming down my face as I watched the shark I had killed get devoured by a group of sharks which had come over in response to the blood. I curled my legs to my body and wrapped my arms around them.

"I'm never drinking again," I vowed.

"Really miss? A night of drinking left ya fish food in the drink?"

I looked up at the voice, a hairy man with a cigar in his mouth was looking over the side of the pier at me, "you want some help there little miss?" He called down.

I nodded my head, and the man obliged. He disappeared from view, then came back moments later tossing a rope down.

I grabbed it and began the climb to the dock he was standing on. When I arrived I rolled onto my back, panting from exhaustion. My headache was head splitting as well, I could hardly concentrate.

"Malcolm Graves," the man said nodding his head in greeting, "cant lie and say I've never had a morning like this before, so what'd you do? Steal something? Killed someone? Or just look at someone the wrong way?"

I shook my head no silently, I was too tired to question this man, "my weapons. He wanted my weapons."

"Ah I'm sorry to hear that miss," he responded solemnly, "whatever they are they are halfway to the Freljord by now.

"Freljord?"

"You dont get out much do ya miss? It's halfway around the world and on the northern side of Valoran. Lot of stuff going on there, i just came from there actually."

"Malcolm..." My voice trailed off and i winced in pain, looking down I was horrified by the large gash on the inside of my leg. I didnt even notice it, it must have happened when i hit the rock on my way down. The skin from just above my knee to just below my crotch had been peeled back exposing the meaty inside of my thigh. I winced as some of the salt water dripped into my leg.

"Jesus!" Graves cried out, cigar dropping from his mouth, "alright come on little miss we gotta get you patched up."

Without another word he grabbed me and picked me up using his arms to support my legs and the center of my back. With me in his arms he took off down the street, and I silently mused at the irony of the situation. I soon blacked out again but could faintly here Malcolm calling out to me to stay with him. I'll try, but I felt my consciousness slip for the second time in the past two days.

End of Chapter One

 _A/N: Hey guys I'm back with a new story. Unfortunately I lost my inspiration on the Betrayal series, so I started writing a new one with the hopes that it would give me a chance to really get back into it. As a result I've created this piece. This is my ninja story and this universe is not canon with my last two. I hope you all enjoy and please feel free to leave me feedback it's always appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

Her solidarity in the final leg of her journey was her favorite part, it really allowed Akali to push all thoughts of her life out of her mind, she could focus all of her energy and meditate while she made her trek. The path was quieter than usual today as well, she wasn't sure why but it felt as though there was someone laying in wait for her, getting ready to strike.  
Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the whistling of a shuriken cutting the wind behind her as the small lethal blades whirled through the air at her. She quickly leapt into action tumbling to the left and leaping onto a tree branch to survey where the blade had been thrown from.  
She practically jumped from her skin when a voice behind her growled playfully, "your senses have improved, perhaps one day you will stand on equal footing with me."  
She inhaled sharply, quickly reached for the kama in her backpack and whirled around attempting to cut her assailant in half. The aggressor quickly dashed to the left and she stopped as she recognized the jet black hair and bright blue eyes that belonged to none other than Zed. She mentally noted his rugged features and the scar on the side of his face that ran from the middle of his cheek to the base of his jawline; he was so attractive, she loved it.  
He smiled at her, "Akali," he grinned, "you look as cute as ever."  
She shot her gaze downward so he couldn't see her blush and the small smile that formed on her face, "Zed." She returned.  
"I take it your mission was successful?"  
"Yes it went without any complications."  
"Good," Zed frowned, "Shen asked me to follow you to make sure you were able to complete the mission. Said he foresaw a 'complication,' so I was supposed to tail you to aid if you got into a situation. I figure it was a good opportunity to get you all to myself."  
She crossed her arms, "i dont need protection, I'm the next Fist of Shadow, dammit. And what could possibly happen in Ionia that I couldn't handle?"  
"Thats what I told him, but he insisted, and i figured it'd better to not argue with the Master's favorite."  
She nodded her head, "well he did work hard to reach that point."  
"And i didnt?" He asked eyebrows raised in jest, "i've worked harder than Shen since they found me as an orphan."  
Akali put her fingers on his lips, Zed was only defendive after sparring with Shen, "another draw again, wasn't it?"  
"You know me so well," he replied laughing hysterically at her, "but that battle will be our last draw, tomorrow evening in our final matchup after the Blood Moon festival I will unveil my new technique and defeat Shen and claim my rightful spot as the Eye of Twilight."  
Intrigued by what his new technique was, Akali wanted to ask, but that smile on his face informed her that he would not tell her under any circumstances so she let it be. The two leapt through the trees in silence.  
Akali smiled and glanced at Zed as they continued to the Kinkou dojo, she noticed the sweat glistening on his arms, and the rugged but boyish face, the scarf wrapped around his neck flapping in the wind behind him, 'he is really cute'. She bit her lip and cleared her mind, 'focus, balance in all things.' She hated those moments of weakness that came with being a girl in a life like this; wanting to be a girl but her duties as an assassin always getting in the way of that. As per tradition girls her age would be sent to a match maker to meet their husband they would be betrothed to. Not Akali though, her mother had decided from birth that Akali would never be married in that way, but watching the girls of the village pair with the males and leave her behind left Akali feeling alone. Her thoughts continued to spiral until Zed stolped abruptly.  
He pointed down and whispered to Akali, "deer. You hungry?"  
She nodded and he took aim, throwing a shuriken which buried itself in the deer's throat, Akali followed up landing behind the deer and sweep one of its legs as it tried to run causing it to trip. The deer stumbled and fell and Akali pulled the razor thin wire from her back pouch, wrapping it around the downed creatures immobilizing it as it bled out.  
Zed landed next to Akali, "it really is frail isn't it."  
"What?"  
"I dunno, life. Existence. Everything."  
"Yea i suppose it is."  
"In one instant everything can change. One moment the animal is a living, breathing, living thing and the next..." Zed trailed off.  
"Its dead." Akali finished looking up at him.  
He nodded silently, and the two stared intently at each other.  
As if an invisible string attached to both of them was being pulled they found themselves moving closer and closer. Zed let his hands fall to her hips, and Akali slowly leaned forward, wondering if maybe she could be a girl for just one moment. She let her eyes close, she could feel Zed's breath on her lips.  
"Hey!" Called out Shen's voice, "who is over there?"  
They both leapt up and dashed through the trees to avoid being caught, ninja weren't supposed to hunt for pleasure, only to survive.  
The dojo finally appeared in front of them and the first thing she noticed was the blue gee and the dual short blades, Shen's trademark look, sitting legs crossed in what appeared to be meditation.  
Akali and Zed landed standing on either side of him, "so you've made it back," Shen stated expressionless.  
"Mission accomplished," Akali replied, beaming brightly at him, Zed was cute but Shen. Shen was beautiful, a work of art more than a person.  
Starting from the messy jet black hair that was unkempt but somehow managed to perfectly frame his face, down to his piercing green eyes and pointed chin, his skin looked so soft, and the almost porcelain white skin made her heart melt every time she saw him.  
When his lips moved to reply all she could imagine was what it would feel like to have her lips between them, "good work Akali, I shall fetch the master now. Also do you know anything about the deer that was killed in the field just outside the dojo?"  
Zed and Akali glanced at each other knowingly, "no" they replied in unison.  
Shen raised an eyebrow, "very well then...I'll tell the master of your successful mission Akali, and I'll see you tomorrow Zed for our duel."  
Zed nodded to him, "be ready Shen, you will lose."  
"I look forward to tomorrow," came his simple response.  
With that he channeled his energy and several rings of concentrated energy, two seconds later he disappeared.  
"What now?" Asked Zed.  
"I dunno, i guess we wait."  
"Yea but for how long?"  
"Till they get back."  
"When will that be?"  
"I dunno, why're you asking me?" akali snapped back, glaring at Zed.  
He threw up his hands "sorry miss fist of shadow, didnt mean to offend you."  
She glared at him before her face broke and she giggled playfully at him, "im not the fist of shadow yet, mister Eye of Twilight."  
He smiled, "i'll definitely become the Eye of Twilight when I unveil the new technique i developed against Shen."  
Akali glanced at Zed and noticed the dark glint in his eyes, it was strange. His eyes were blue but they looked less sparkly than they did when she first ran into him, they almost looked as if they had darkened. She couldn't help but shudder, all of Zed's behavior was foreshadowing something and she didn't like it. Looking back, her biggest mistake was not stopping Zed from fighting Shen in their upcoming duel. However, that night and Akali's first opportunity to really be a girl instead of an assassin had arisen. The Blood Moon Festival. It was a beautiful opportunity to wear the most feminine kimono she owned, and she was even permitted to bring a date. She had asked Zed, she hoped he'd like her kimono.

I awoke violently the pain in my leg excruciating. Looking down I looked at the gash in horror.  
Graves came rushing in, "Akali! Are you okay? Hang in there help is coming, shit what do I do?"  
I looked around, the room was dark, and i was on a bed, "w-water please," I barely managed to moan out.  
Graves nodded and rushed out coming back moments later with a small container of water.  
"T-thank you."  
"Of course," he replied, a grimace on his face, "damn little lady they did a number on you."  
I nodded in agreement after choking down some of the water and feeling myself lose consciousness again, quickly thanked Graves again as the room went black again.

The Blood Moon festival is largely considered Ionian's most famous event and most of the younger ninjas and assassins enjoy this event as its an opportunity to meet individuals of different nations as well as celebrate Ionian culture. This year was special for Akali as this year since she was the premier candidate for the Fist of Shadow, she and Shen, the premier candidate for the Eye of Twilight, would perform the Tale of Reina. She was nervous, however the traditional kimono donned by Reina was beautiful.  
The kimono was slightly shorter in length than a traditional one, but the beautiful blend of white and red fabric was a brilliant representation of Ionian culture, and the traditional kamas she had in her possession for the length of the festival were taped with red bandage, and had been designed with two blades attached to each of the ornate hand grips. Reina's tale was a very spiritual tale about strength and courage, young Reina is plagued by an evil spirit one which she ran from for years until gathered the courage to turn and fight the spirit, however the spirit ran away when she saw Reina, unafraid to fight said spirit.  
After the short play with Shen playing the evil spirit Akali sat in the backstage smiling as Shen walked over, "good job Akali."  
Akali smiled at him, "thank you, you did quite well yourself."  
"Hey Akali..." Shen started, "about Zed..."  
"Yes."  
"You didn't even hear what I asked."  
"I don't need to, I know you Shen, and Zed let you do the play to give you a chance with me." Akali bit her lip, looking up at him, "I think he likes the challenge."  
Shen nodded, "well if thats the case can I-?"  
Akali shook her head, "you'll have to do a bit more than that."  
Shen nodded, "I get it."  
Shen motioned for her to stay and walked over grabbing the traditional Ionian beef plate he had bought after the show and walked back to Akali.  
He handed her a small knife and gave her the plate, "eat it, its good. I know it was you and Zed who hunted that deer earlier. I wont tell anyone about it, but You can have that."  
Akali smiled at him,her smooth, soft skin catching Shen's eye, and he difficultly tried to swallow the dry lump forming in his throat although externally his face had not betrayed him.  
She took a bite and smiled, "so good! Ive never had meat this good before!"  
Shen nodded and stepped closer to her, Akali looked up and saw Shen's eyes directly in front of hers, and before she could react he had tilted his head towards hers, kissing her.  
Completely caught by surprise Akali dropped the plate of meat. She quickly leapt back and stared at him. Shen didnt drop his icy stare, and Akali shook her head.  
"No, no I cant."  
Shen watched her go, not realizing it'd be one of the last times he would see Akali.

The turnout to this duel had been a lot larger than Akali expected. Not only did the head of the Kinkou show, her mother, Shen's father, the Noxian and every other Kinkou potential candidate was there, along with a few of the citizens of the neighboring village.  
Akali stood next to Zed inside the dojo, glancing out the window, "are you ready?"  
He grinned at her, "of course, Shen is nothing to my new technique, but just in case-"  
He trailed off and took a step towards Akali. He slowly lifted her chin and she inhaled sharply, realizing what he was about to do and as she closed her eyes whispered to him, 'i'm not going to stop you.'  
She could feel his breath on her lips and she bit her lip nervously as his lips touched hers-  
The door flew open and both parties jumped backward into fighting stances.  
A startled Katarina jumped back, "the hell? What're you doing here Akali?"  
"I could ask the same of you," akali replied calmly.  
She grinned slyly, "i just wanted to wish Zed here," she shot a glace over at him, "good luck."  
Akali felt the tension, it made her uncomfortable. She wanted Katarina to leave now, luckily before she could speak Zed spoke first.  
"Thank you for the wishes, but I dont need them, Shen will be defeated on this day."  
With that he walked past both girls, and headed towards the arena  
Katarina smirked and glanced over at her, "and what were you two doing?"  
"Nothing." She shot back her-voice icy enough to cause sejuani to shiver.  
Katarina smirked again and the two wordlessly left the room and went down to watch the fight  
Shen stood across from Zed, both staring each other down intensely. Slowly Shen drew his blades and Zed extended the blades on his wrist, much to everyone's surprise this being the first time Zed every showed these weapons.  
With a low growl Zed dashed towards Shen and slashed at him; Shen brought his short sword up and caught Zed's blades around his own.  
The steel clashed violently as Zed spun only to be blocked by Shen's other blade.  
Enraged Zed hopped back, planted his foot, and leapt-flipping in the air and bringing his foot down toward Shen's head. Shen brought both hands over his head in a cross armed upper block, but Zed smiled.  
A small black portal opened in the ground directly in front of Shen; zed arched his back and dropped headfirst into it as Shen swiped his blade in an attempt to cut Zed in half.  
Shen whipped around unable to see Zed for a second, he was tipped off to Zed's presence when he appeared directly behind him and kicked Shen off his feet. sprawled out Shen dropped one of his blades and quickly recovered to block the thrust from Zed.  
The next move happened so quickly that had Akali not known Zed's speed she would have missed the move altogether.  
She watched as Zed parried Shen's blade when it was thrust in his direction, and he suddenly disappeared leaving a shadow, was the only way to describe it, behind as Zed reappeared directly behind Shen and swept his leg out from under him, simultaneously disarming Shen's other weapon and thrusting his wrist blades inches from Shen's throat.  
Shen looked up at Zed's blade, inches from his throat as the mediator called the match to completion.  
Zed smiled at Shen, "the unseen blade is the deadliest."  
Shen bowed expressionless, "you have defeated me today."

Akali ran up to Zed, "what was that? Where did you learn that shadow technique thing."  
He smiled again, "the deadliest of techniques, its an ancient art I found in a scroll older than the Kinkou itself. There is no doubt I will be made the Eye of Twilight after this, the Master has even requested I see him in his personal quarters, no doubt to inform me of his decision."  
"Good luck," she whispered delicately to him.  
"Oh!" Zed stopped and turned to face her, "i almost forgot."  
She glanced up at him and was taken aback when he quickly leaned forward and pushed his lips onto hers. Her eyes opened wide, but quickly closed and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  
She slowly opened her eyes as he pulled away and that's when she noticed. His eyes; they were no longer blue, but a deep dark blood red.  
"Zed!" She chirped at him, "your eyes! What happened to them?"  
"To be honest i dont know, i think it happened when i dropped into that portal in the fight today. I kinda like it, makes me feel deadly, ha ha ha."  
With that he walked off leaving Akali standing there replaying the kiss over and over in her mind. She had been so focused on his lips on hers she couldn't even remember where his hands had been. She just hoped he would hurry and finish with the master, she wanted him to herself in her quarters. However she couldn't get the thought of his eyes out of her mind. She questioned the portal, what would it do to him if he continued using it?  
Lost in her thoughts of what that portal could do to Zed and she was surprised when she turned the corner and walked directly into Shen. She gasped as he caught her around the waist.  
"Hey." He said simply.  
Blushing, Akali nodded quickly, "hey."  
Shen opened his mouth to say something, but Akali quickly turned and bolted away leaving a confused Shen standing there watching her go.  
Slamming the sliding door to her small room Akali laid on the bed looking up ath the ceiling, her green body suit felt hot; she took it off still lying on her bed with only her panties and bra which she had made herself consisting of bandages that she had tightly wound around her body, pushing her breasts flat. She slowly closed her eyes, and before long drifted to sleep.  
"You really have a fantastic body," Zed said to her from the window.  
Akali jumped to the ceiling, "how did you..."  
"These shadows have a lot of uses," he called back to her, jumping in the room and walking towards her.  
"It seems dangerous Zed," She told him worriedly, "it seems like it's effecting you."  
He smiled at me, "only in a good way."  
He took another step towards her and Akali's naked body shivered. "Zed" she whispered.  
He stopped directly in front of her, "you want to feel like a girl, right? I know what to do to you."  
Akali breathed in sharply as he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her towards him, and he pressed his lips to hers, his tongue quickly finding its way into her mouth. Akali moaned into his mouth, and Zed responded by grabbing one of her legs to wrap it around his waist. She responded wrapping her other leg around and Zed walked to the wall pinning her between himself and it. His lips strayed from her mouth and he slid his tongue down her neck. Akali moaned again and her arms wrapped around his neck. Suddenly Zed moved her to the bed and pulled his own pants down. Akali cod t really see his phallus, but she could feel it pressing against her.  
"C'mere," Zed growled.  
He grabbed her head and pushed her down till her head was only inches from Zed's penis. She nervously looked at it and then up at him.  
Biting her lip she whispered to him, "I'm not really sure what to do..."  
"Open your mouth, keep your lips over your teeth and suck on it."  
Akali nodded and nervously opened her mouth. She grabbed the large erection before her which was nearly twice the size of her hand and opened her mouth slowly putting it in her mouth. Slowly at first she began moving her head back and forth, earning her a few moans from Zed. She mentally smiled and began to increase her pace, Zed's grip on her shoulder tightening until it hurt. Akali got an idea and placed her hand on his length as well moving her hand with her mouth as she worked up and down Zed's manhood. This continued on for several minutes until Zed's body began convulsing and he quickly pulled his erect member out of her mouth. Akali wasnt aware of how male genitals worked, so when the first spurt of cum squirted right onto Akali's nose she nearly screamed in fear, thinking she broke him or something. The second spurt went directly into her eye, gluing it shut and nearly blinding her. Zed allowed his cock to rest on her still open mouth and the last few drops dripped into her mouth. Akali gagged a little but managed to get a handle on it and reached over grabbing an article of clothing from the ground and wiping her face with it.  
Zed wasted no time once she had finished cleaning herself pushing her onto her back and spreading her legs.  
"I'm going to..." Zed trailed off.  
Akali nodded at him, drawing her hands up to her cheeks and looking down as he positioned himself in front of her entrance.  
Akali bit her lip as Zed slowly inched his way inside her, his length causing her back to arch and her legs to spasm slightly. Zed looked into her eyes and suddenly the light red changed and darkened. He began pounding into Akali his length extending deep inside her.  
"Ah! No! Zed!" Akali screamed, "its t-t-too much! I c-c-cant!"  
Unresponsive he continued to slam repeatedly into her, each thrust harder than the last. The wild aggression was intensly attractive but at the same time painful and Akali's shrill screams were a mixture of pain, fear, and pleasure. Zed slammed into her again, and suddenly pulled out.  
"Zed..." Akali panted, barely able to feel her legs, "please, slow down...i c-c-cant take it. I've never done this before."  
Zed's eyes remained the deep hue of red and he rolled Akali over, positioning his now throbbing member centimeters from her entrance. Again he slammed his member deeply into her aching pussy. Akali's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she felt herself slipping into a state of unconsciousness. She felt herself slip and as Zed climaxed he pulled his erect member from her and shot another load all over Akali's back.  
She was awoken by the sound of clambering into her room. The first thing she noticed was several hours had passed, and as she glanced over she noticed Zed collapsed on the floor of her room.  
"Zed!" She cried out.  
Looking at the blood covering his face she hurriedly grabbed some of the bandages from the foot of her bed and began wrapping his head to stop the flow of blood.  
"Akali..."he whispered weakly, "don't...trust..." His voice trailed off.  
"Who?" She called to him, "who shouldn't I trust?" Her voice was frantic now.  
"The...Kinkou...betrayed...me..." His voice growing very faint.  
She finished wrapping the criss crossing slashes running along his face, and brought him over to her bed, laying him to rest on her bed. She laid down next to him and the two of them laid there, Zed's breathing soft and weak, Akali's almost silent. She couldn't figure out what was going on. Something definitely wasn't right, Zed seemed different before and even more so now. She couldn't make sense of anything going on, but for now she needed to sleep, and so did Zed his body felt cold. Worriedly she slipped him into her bed and put him under the sheets after climbing underneath the sheets. She wrapped her body around his, her face nestled comfortably in his chest.

I woke up, the pain in my leg severely diminished, "G-graves!" I called out weakly.  
The large man came into the room, "hot damn! You're one tough son of a bitch, how ya feeling girlie?"  
"I've been better," I replied sheepishly, "how long have I been out."  
"A little less than a day," he replied, "oh someone came for you, big fella, white fur. Said you didnt know him but he knows you and he'll be waiting here for ya."  
Graves handed me a paper with the name of a bar scratched on it, The Dead Whale.  
"The Dead Whale?" I asked Graves.  
"Yea, its a little bar on the other side if Bilgewater, I can take ya there if ye'd like lil' miss."  
I nodded, "very well." As i tried to get up however I fell back down, grunting in pain as I went.  
"Hold on there little lady," Graves said concerned, "its a little soon for you to be jumping along the rooftops."  
I nodded and let my body fall back feeling weak and helpless. Last time I had felt like this was that time with Zed. Biting my lip I recalled that night again when he took my virginity.

Sent from


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Journey's Start

She awoke to a masked figure nudging her.

"Akali," it whispered to her.

Her eyes flew open and she came face to face, or rather face-to-mask with an unknown figure. She immediately took note of the red eyes, but the silver mask with a red cloth hanging from the back encased the rest of his face in shadows.

"Akali," he whispered again.

Akali looked at the masked figure, and slowly reached her hand up to remove the mask, completely confused as to who the man was, however the red eyes narrowing her list of suspects down significantly.

He lowered his head slightly to allow her to do so, and when the mask fell to the floor she could only sigh in despair at the damage that had been done to his once attractive face.

It was Zed, she wished she could've stopped what had happened to him. The several criss crossing wounds on his face, the deep gashes leaving his skin broken and damaged and his eyes were that deep crimson hue that she remembered from early. The pain between her legs reminded her of their encounter not too long ago. The mix of fear and lust that she was feeling for Zed right now drew her to him, and she implanted a kiss on his unresponsive lips.

Akali pulled away, grabbing him around the shoulders and pulling him in a close embrace, "talk to me Zed, please. I need to know who did this to you, we can make them pay together. I can feel your uneasiness, there is no balance in you."

"Master did." He stated simply. "After our encounter I left to see the master to answer his summons, but as I went into his quarters to speak with him, he attacked me. He managed to wound me, but I managed to escape using a shadow technique and I ended up here. Akali I have to get out of here, master is sending his assassins after me. Come with me, master is trying to militarize the Kinkou, he told me as we fought. Noxus has infiltrated our organization and are somehow managing to work their philosophies into ours, stamping out our tradition and replacing it with something else. However I refuse to be swayed by this madness, that is not balance, we the ninjas must remain in the shadows, we've always helped write history from behind the curtain. This balance he speaks of is but a lie, the Kinkou are to become puppets of Noxus. Help me escape, true balance lies in the shadows, and the light is beginning to reveal itself upon the Kinkou."

Zed held out his hand meaning for Akali to take it, and as she slowly extended her hand, uncertainly at first but with more conviction after considering his words, the door bursted open and Shen barged in.

"Stop!" He cried and dashed toward Zed who quickly dashed to the side and reached for the window. Moments later he disappeared and reappeared in the trees, barely visible from the shadows themselves.

Akali cried out his name and leapt out the window after him, his mask in her hand still. Shen, who was joined by several assassins followed in pursuit. Although all of the ninja jumping through the trees were familiar with the forests surrounding the Kinkou complex, the speed at which Zed was traveling was unreal. Akali, who had traveled through these forests with Zed since they could barely hold a blade, found it hard to keep pace with him, his mask still in her hand as she leapt from branch to branch.

Abruptly Zed stopped and looked back at her.

"Akali!" He called back.

She stopped at the tree before him, "Zed I need you to explain what is happening here, what is going on why did master attack you."

"Look," he said glancing off into the distance, "back at the dojo the master is keeping secrets, and I need your help to expose him. This will be difficult but once I've escaped you mist follow me I shall leave a trail for you to follow, I cannot bring down the masters corrupt order without the aide of a fellow ninja. I will travel the sea, follow me when you can. But first we need to make it to the cliff face, follow me."

He motioned for her to follow which she complied and the two leapt in a different direction headed straight towards the cliffs of the Ionian island.

Zed stopped at the cliff edge looking down at the hundred foot drop to the raging Ionian seas. He was cornered and he knew it, but he had a plan, one that would certainly work. Akali raced into the clearing and bumped into Zed nearly knocking him them both off.

"Zed," she whispered staring into his eyes, "why?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, I thought the master would be more excited to see a pupil had unlocked the dark shadow techniques. But I was wrong, that man does not strive for balance."

She shook her head disbelievingly, "no Zed, we of the Kinkou have fought for balance since the ancient times. Even now, we fight for balance."

"So you mean to betray me as well!" He bellowed at her.

"No Zed, no! I want to help you escape, I dont know anything about what is going on but I do know you Zed. I've enjoyed every second I've spent training with you and if our last day together is me getting you away from Ionia, so be it. I know you'll become a great ninja and I know our paths will cross again. And I will follow you across all of this vast world if that is what you want. That moment we spent together, I want to have many more moments like that. I want that with you."

With that she grabbed his shoulders and hugged him close. She slowly shifted his head down and pulled his face towards hers, pushing her lips against his. Turning her head she pulled him deeper into the kiss. Slowly she pulled away, staring into his eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

She nodded and handed him his mask, "I believe you must tread a different path to find balance. By the will of the Kinkou I will not stop another on their path to balance, please use me however you must to escape."

She threw her kamas down and Zed quietly bowed his head to thank her.

Zed got an idea, and grabbed her, spinning her around and holding his blade to her neck as Shen and the Kinkou assassins arrived. They all stopped and took defensive stances.

"Zed!" Shen called, "stop this madness! You have gone too far! We can talk this out!"

"How? With steel?" Zed bellowed, "master has already shown me how he plans to talk this out with me!"

As he screamed that he removed his mask exposing the criss crossing wounds.

Shen swallowed, "the master over reacted, that technique was last used in the Ling Wei era! The abilities have been locked for generations! The last time that power was used Ling Wei brought half of Avalon to its knees."

"I am aware of the child's tales, and now I've found the power and I can bring true balance to this world! We are taught balance here yet we lock away this power, what gives the Kinkou the right to withhold power such as this!"

There are many secrets within the Kinkou, our actions are dictated by maintaining balance! There must be something we dont know about this power that the master is trying to protect us from!"

"Secrets?" Zed scoffed, "secrets kept are weapons wasted."

"Enough talk," one of the assassins said icily, "this traitor needs to be put down."

"Put down?" Shen asked, "I was told we are capturing him."

"You heard wrong," the other assassin said as he quickly summoned a short spear which he promptly threw through Akali's shoulder to pierce Zed.

Akali cried in pain and Zed dropped her, the spear protruding from both of them impaling them together.

The other assassins seized the opportunity and ran his blade through the now wounded Zed.

Zed felt the spear dislodge as the assassin who had run the blade through him kicked him off the spear. He watched Akali crumple in a heap on the ground and slowly backed towards the cliff and laughed at the four figures with him, "if this is your idea of balance...I think these cliffs are a fine way to escape this...this balance."

With that he allowed himself to fall off the cliff. Akali cried out and turned to grab him, but his plummet was too swift and she watched his body fall. She cried out again as the spear was ripped from her by the other assassin.

"Pathetic," one of them jeered at her, "you call yourself a ninja and you allowed yourself to be captured by that rogue assassin. If you had any respect for yourself you'd commit harakiri with those kamas."

She felt the tears run down her cheeks, they felt hot with embarrassment. The wild mixture of emotions left her body feeling like she couldn't breathe. She wanted to die, and briefly considered running herself through with the kamas her mother had gifted her, however her emotions settled and left her in a deep state of melancholy.

The assassins turned to Shen, "tell the master Zed has escaped. Assume he is alive until the body is recovered."

Shen nodded and went to get Akali, "dont touch me!" She snapped at him.

Shen stepped back confused, "you killed him! For no reason, because he found a way to beat you? How can you claim to be the Eye of Twilight if you cant see he was part of the balance! We needed him! He was a part of us, and you destroyed that! And you-"

Shen blinked behind her and covered her mouth, "silence. I had no part in this. I was only called by master to retrieve Zed, i was unaware it would come to such a violent conclusion."

Akali felt the tears flow freely and hugged Shen tightly, "they killed him. They killed him."

He consoled her, staring off the cliff, face unseen beneath the mask on his face, "I dont think-" his voice trailed off.

She looked up at him expectantly, but Shen did not finish his sentence and Akali let her gaze fall and pulled Shen closer, continuing to cry into his chest.

The wound was still sore on her shoulder, but Akali didn't care. She couldnt stand to spend one more second in this awful place. Last night's events still fresh in her mind Akali grabbed her bag with only a handful of gold pieces and a fresh pair of clothes, her trusted kamas looped around her waist. Akali also slid a few dozen small knives on the outside of her right thigh in a black pouch. She also grabbed a black cloak and leapt from her window.

"Going somewhere?" Came Shen's voice behind her.

"You can't stop me," Akali said without turning around.

"He's gone, Akali."

"You don't know that, Shen."

"You're too hard-headed Akali, you're just like your mother. You mustn't go, the master forbad us to leave Ionia until we are initiated into the Kinkou. Please Akali. Stay. For me at least."

"Shen, no. I can't. You're too much of a follower, that's why us, you and me...It'll never be a thing. I know you want it to be but Shen..." Akali sighed, "you don't have the same ambition and drive as him. One day he's going to surpass everyone and he'll find balance. I know he will. You-you'll just follow the Master until the day you die. I can't do that too, Shen. Not after last night."

Shen sighed, "your mind is made then I take it? I figured as much would happen." He tossed a pouch to her, "if it comes down to it, use this. I don't agree with your decision but I'm not going to stop you."

"What's this?" Akali asked shaking the pouch, the rattling of a satisfying number of coins answering her question, "why?"

"It's a hundred gold pieces. Use it for a ferry off the island or lodging, whatever essentials you need."

"Thank you," she replied, "I really, truly appreciate this, but why?"

Shen sighed heavily and turned to walk away, "who knows? We all do strange things for the ones we love. And there's something about this situation that doesn't sit right with me. I'd go after Zed myself but I don't think he trusts me very much, so I think leaving it to you is better."

Akali bit her lip, "I understand...and Shen; I will come back. And when I do...I expect to see you as the new Eye of Twilight."

Shen continued walking away, "I appreciate that, and perhaps I may. Until then, tread the path you must Fist of Shadow."

Akali nodded and turned to walk away as well, "I'm no fist of shadow, more a ronin than anything," she said to herself.

"Ronin's are samurai without a master Akali," Shen called to her, his face momentarily breaking out in laughter before steeling itself one more, "you're situation is more a rogue."

Akali shot him a dirty glance, but quickly allowed her face to brighten then took off running, "but ronin sounds so much cooler," she whined.

After regaining her composure, she continued, "But then again, you're right, maybe I'm not a ninja anymore, I'm something more. This is the path I must find on my own."

With that Akali leapt further in the forest headed for the nearest village and port in an attempt to leave Ionia and begin her journey.

It had been a few weeks and my leg had finally healed enough for me to continue my journey. Refreshed I leapt onto my feet and sprinted from Graves' small hideout in the bowels of Bilgewater and made my short journey to the Dead Whale. I wasn't sure who I was supposed to be looking for but I did know that he knew me. I sat in a corner of the bar, arms crossed and leaning back in my chair. Several men shot me glances, and braver ones walked up to me and offered to buy me drinks. I declined everyone, I wasn't sure why but I had a feeling whoever this mysterious caller was would help me find Zed, and since I had no leads and no trail to follow, I decided it couldn't hurt to talk to him. That being said, my encounters in Bilgewater had been hit or miss, so I kept one hand firmly on the short knife I had bought earlier today. It wasn't a kama but the blade was sharp enough to kill.

I had been in the bar for a little over an hour when a person of interest entered. He was at least a foot taller than everyone else in the bar and the cloak left his face completely hidden from view. The hooded figure clearly was looking for me, he shot several glances in my direction not bothering to disguise them at all. The figure ordered a large tankard and quickly shuffled to my table sitting across from me.

"You're the ninja from a few weeks ago." It wasn't a question.

"Rogue," I corrected, "and depends on who's asking."

"It was I who wrote you that letter, I've been stalking you these past few weeks. Bilgewater has been a bit of a rough start on your adventure little cub."

I looked at him, "who are you?"

The figure dropped his hood, "I am called Rengar, the Pridestalker."

I wasn't prepared for this, it was that same cat-like creature from my first night in Bilgewater. It appeared that he dropped the huge skull mounted on his shoulder for a dark hood. He looked fast, and as he continued talking my attention was drawn to the large knife he had placed on the table. It was almost the length of my arm and nearly twice the width, if he stabbed me with that it would literally cut me in half.

Rengar continued, "I-we have an interest in you."

"Who?" I asked.

"The Headhunters."

"Who are the Headhunters?"

"The best trackers and hunters from all of Avalon. Throughout our hunts we run into each other and as a result we began tracking and hunting prey together. We are the best. Speak with Nidalee she will show you the ways of the Headhunters."

I considered his offer carefully, if what he was saying is true I could benefit greatly, but a small seed of doubt stayed nestled firmly in my head, "...and if I refuse?"

"Then I will find you and drag you to see Nidalee. You have a hunter's mark. She can sense it. I can feel it. If you do not join the hunters, you become my prey. I will find you. That and I think you may be interested on the information we have on another ninja not unlike yourself who passed through Bilgewater."

Something, maybe the wicked knife or the glint in his eye told me I should strongly consider going with him, and that information sounded like it was related to Zed, so in the end I decided I would. I told him so, and he seemed excited about it.

After our conversation in the bar, the two of us left together and Rengar made small talk with me. He started with informing me his preferred method of capturing his prey, which involved using a stealth field, and appearing seconds before he jumped on his prey to eviscerate them, I realized the rumors I had heard on my way to Bilgewater were actually of him. The description fit him perfectly.

So after what was a few minutes of walking the two of us stopped in front of a building in the town. It was actually quite close to the first tavern I had went to when I first met-or rather saw these self-titled headhunters.

"Here is where we hunt. Or the weak beg us to hunt for them. Come to the den. Nidalee has been talking about you all morning. Well everyday for the past few weeks," Rengar added, crossing his arms in annoyance at that.

"Nidalee?" I asked, "who is that? How does she know me?

"Not important. Just go in that room. Talk to her."

I nodded, and stepped through the door. I had walked into a jungle apparently, there were plants and little trees, and the wooden floor was covered in dirt-

I rolled, dodging the spear, and blocking the kick with the flat side of my blade.

"I was right," Nidalee smirked triumphantly, "your smell is intoxicating, I knew you were a killer. The mark on you is incredible."

"A killer?" I asked, "that's what I smell like?"

She smiled, "a killer, but a virgin still. I want you to join the headhunters."

"I'm not a-" I stopped regaining my composure, "I don't even know what the headhunters are," I replied.

"We hunt heads, people, jewels, anything really. The only prerequisites to joining the headhunters is to be approached by Rengar and accepted by me. That being said, most of us joined the headhunters because we are hunting something of our own as well. For example, Rengar over there is here in search of his greatest prey, a target called Kha'zix. That creature took his eye."

"And I'm looking for a partner," came the rifle wielding woman with the English accent, "Morning, love. Caitlyn here, resident leader of the headhunters, I see you've met Nidalee before, she's the head of planning and new member acquisition. It's good to see she's found another recruit. So this is the girl you were telling me about, the virgin?"

"I'm not a-" I started indignantly.

Nidalee nodded, biting her lip suggestively, "I can smell it, it's arousing."

"But I'm not-" I huffed annoyedly.

"Very well, what's your name girl?" Caitlyn asked jumping onto one of the small trees in the room, "do you like the room? Took us a long time to get authentic Kumungu trees. Really looks like a jungle doesn't it?"

I nodded, I did appreciate the jungle-like quality of the room; I shifted my attention from Nidalee to Caitlyn and spoke, I am Akali, of the Kinkou order, or well...I was I'm not anymore. I am Akali the Ronin."

"Isn't a ronin..." Nidalee started but was silenced by a glare from Caitlyn.

"Okay ronin," Caitlyn started calmly, "I'm sure Nidalee and Rengar have told you a little about our little organization. The headhunters are an organization that is invite only. We took the strongest assassins and hunters from around the world and developed a network for us to use each other to make tracking our prey a little easier. We also hunt together when we feel the target is worth it, generally speaking my targets tend to have large bounties on their head, Rengar hunts big game, Nidalee hunts men, and we've decided to add you to our ranks because we need someone to hunt more elusive prey."

"Elusive?" I asked Caitlyn.

"Like other ninjas and assassins. I've been on the tail of a man named Talon for months, but this man is so elusive I just cannot seem to catch him. In exchange for your help we can aide you in any way you see fit, whether it be weapons, armor, transportation..." Caitlyn's voice trailed off.

"I get it. So you need an ex-ninja to find an assasin. And in exchange fo rmy services, you'll help me. But I don't get it, why not just use Rengar, he seems like a much better tracker than me. And if Nidalee is good for finding men….why not use the girl to find your assasin, unless is this Talon a female?."

"I like her alot." Nidalee chimed in, "already thinking outside the box. Well Cait, IS this Talon a girl?"

"That's the second problem, we know nothing about this Talon. I don't know if it's a man or a woman, and personally I think your girlish charm will help bring him/her out."

"I'm questioning the ability of the headhunters," I replied, "how long has this person been at large."

"For years I'd imagine, but Talon has only just reached Piltover this past month. From what I've heard, he has a relationship with Jinx. But this information doesn't matter yet, are you going to join first of all?"

"I suppose I could, but how do I know you aren't going to kill me the second I trust you."

"Ninjas are a careful bunch. Right then, valid concerns outside of my word I have nothing I can give you and just hope you can take my word for it that we won't kill you? Or what if we give you other things, maps? Information? Judging from your age you must've been an apprentice when you left, so you must not know much about the world, we can provide the top of the line in everything, from weapons to information. And if we give you the information it wouldn't make sense to kill you."

She had a point, "I may not know much, but I've been traveling town to town and I'm a quick study. I'm not gonna settle here," I added as an afterthought.

"Who said anything about settling, the stars must've aligned but you caught us on a return, we've just met up again I was hunting a few raiders in Freljord, Rengar and Nidalee were in the Kumungu jungles hunting a rogue assasin by the name of Leon. All of us were just finishing up hunts, we only got back that first night you saw us. The only reason we haven't left yet is because Nidalee is obsessed with you. Now that you've come to we leave again at the end of the week, we'll be traveling across the world. Nidalee has a lead in Shurima and a liaison. There's another member of our headhunters who you haven't met yet. He tends to travel alone, but he drops in with leads. We call him Master Yi, and I'm sure he'll be stopping by, he has a knack for coming at the right moment. He was with us a few weeks on that first night, but he left the next morning to scout the mainland and inform me of new targets. We leave once his information arrives. However we are running behind so Nidalee you leave tonight and head to Shurima with Rengar, meet us in Piltover. Akali and I can head straight to Piltover, we need to get some lead on this Talon individual."

I nodded, "Yi...the name sounds familiar, is he Ionian?"

"He is," Caitlyn replied, "perhaps he could even give you a hand with your little hunt."

"How do you know I have a target."

"Come on," Caitlyn's eyes glinted knowingly, "I'm a world class detective, a young girl at fifteen, maybe leaving a dojo without completing her training? Something happened and she's either running or chasing. Seeing as you've been in Bilgewater nearly a month now and no one has come looking, I'd say you're chasing. You're clearly not on the run, if that were the case you'd be hiding out. Rengar said he tracked you roaming the streets and holed up with Graves for the past few weeks. I doubt its a love affair, Graves isn't really into our...I mean your type….unfortunately." She added sourly.

"Unfortunately...what do you mean?" My voice trailed.

"How to put it delicately...you'd working with the wrong weapons if you were trying to seduce him. Trust me, I've had many a drunken night trying to seduce that beautiful man. It's something that probably won't make much sense to you now so I won't get into the details. Moving on...so by process of elimination I determined you're looking for someone. I did a bit of poking around, talked to some Ionian traders, and I'm guessing you're looking for a ninja named Zed. They told me about some fight between him and another ninja to claim a spot of importance in your organization and then he suddenly went missing a few days later. I put that together then found out a sailor picked up a ninja in the middle of the ocean. Zed's alive. And we made contact with him. He asked us to give this letter to the female ninja chasing after him."

Whether or not her statements were true mattered little, my mind was set I had to find him. Perhaps joining these headhunters would be a good idea, and to be honest I had missed the company of others since leaving the dojo, Shen and Kennen, and even the various other ninjas were generally good allies. If the Ex-master taught me one thing it was to take advantage of your surroundings whether it's the terrain or individuals, so perhaps joining with these guys was a good idea. I needed to see that letter, respectfully I asked Caitlyn where it was to which she responded.

"Join and it's yours. None of us have any interest in your personal affairs but if you help us, we help you. It's just what the headhunters do."

I exhaled loudly and Caitlyn watched me expectantly as I responded, "okay. If I'm going to join you I'm going to need a replacement pair of kamas."

Caitlyn smiled and Rengar walked up to me, roughly patting my shoulder almost knocking me off my feet, "tonight we hunt!" Rengar roared.

"Welcome to the Headhunters Akali," Nidalee purred.

Caitlyn smiled, "we leave before the close of this week, let's get you some real armor, come with me."


End file.
